Sliding doors are becoming increasingly popular on motor vehicles. Sliding doors have a number of benefits over doors mounted on hinges. First they provide a large opening that is unobstructed by the door. Second, the sliding door may be fully opened even when there is an obstacle near the vehicle that would limit the opening of a hinged door.
As sliding doors have become more popular, more and more motor vehicles are being provided with sliding doors on the driver's side of the vehicle. When a vehicle is parked at night and an individual is getting out of the vehicle through a sliding door on the driver's side, that individual will be getting out in the path of moving traffic. This document describes a new and effective exit warning system that provides a signal to an approaching driver that warns of the potential of an individual leaving the parked vehicle through a sliding door.